Barbara Boxer: Mean GOP has a vendetta against … Elmo (VIDEO)

Sen. Barbara Boxer posited a new theory about what lies behind GOP cuts to the budget. The Republican Party hates Elmo, she suggested in a floor speech Tuesday.

“I believe they use deficit reduction as an excuse to carry out political vendettas,” she said, speaking about GOP cuts to health care, the EPA and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which she noted is funded by the government at a much lower percentage than the BBC in Britain.

“Now they want to zero it out,” she said. “A vendetta, against Elmo.”

Her delivery did not suggest it was meant as a joke. To be fair, the red Muppet’s cutesy, sing-song act has gotten a little tired.